The July bankruptcy of Atkins Nutritionals, the company founded by diet guru Robert Atkins, signalled the end of a low-carbohydrate craze some observers say is unrivalled in food marketing. At its peak, during 2003-2004, some 30 million Americans were following the Atkins diet; 20% of shoppers polled by the Food Marketing Institute said they had started buying certain products specifically because they were low-carbohydrate; and food manufacturers introduced more than 3,000 new low-carb products in 2003 alone.
Like any product fad -- from Pet Rocks to Beanie Babies -- the Atkins craze was marked by a rapid rise in popularity and an equally rapid decline, both of which were predictable. "Over the last century, fads in this country have displayed traceable life cycles," says Ira Meyer, head of Manhattan-based EPM Communications and publisher of an EPM study on fads that analyzed 100 products from as early as 1880 (Gibson girls) to as late as 1998 (virtual pets). The study identified four different patterns:
- A typical or "true" fad which skyrockets in popularity but fades in less than 18 months, such as the Macarena
- A cyclical fad which reappears every six or seven years, although with diminished popularity; for example, hula hoops or yoyos
- A generational fad that surfaces approximately every 15 years, such as bellbottom pants
- A fad-to-franchise product which exhibits a continued, wave-like pattern after its initial surge; for example, the Slinky toy or Mickey Mouse products.
Diets are generally fad-to-franchise products, according to Meyer. They initially behave like a true fad, with radical ups and downs, but then they come and go for years afterwards rather than disappear altogether. That description fits the approach to eating advocated by Robert Atkins, a cardiologist who hit on his low-carbohydrate diet after struggling with weight problems of his own.
[continue]
Page 1 of 7
> >>